It bothers Bob and his fellow woodcarvers that the general populace thinks what they do is folk art. To him, it’s richer, more complex than that.

It might surprise some, but Bob is an environmentalist.

“I buy the wood I use from a company on the Tacoma Tideflats,” he said. “We recycle wood, logs, tree stumps destined to be ground down, or slash pile not suitable for the market.”

Once he trucks it home, he cuts the wood to a size he wants and studies it.

“I can visualize in three dimensions,” Bob said, “and though I don’t see it, I can visualize the backside, what has to happen back there, before I make a cut. I have to fit my idea into that cylinder — carving in the round.”

Once he begins carving, he’s usually working from a sketch, but often simply follows the image he’s created in his mind.

“If I’ve seen an animal, I can usually carve it,” he said. “I’ve looked at books — taxidermy textbooks are good — that show the muscles below the skin. I can’t draw, but I can sketch out an idea. I’d never show anyone my sketches, though.”

An artist now making six figures a year, those three children grown, Bob is available for more competitions. And more commissions. He bid for and was awarded the project that created “Big Washington” for the Washington State Fair this year.

It’s a nine-foot-tall Sasquatch, and it will be a staple of fairs to come.

Much of the art he creates now is larger than life, from angels to Viking warriors to wildlife scenes. Asked what’s the most popular commission request, he laughed.

“Something someone can pick up with both hands, put under their left arm while they pay you with their right hand,” he said. “ A small bear, a bear head poking out of a stump. I’ve made lots of stuff like that.

“If I’m going to carve a bear, I’d love to capture the anatomy of the bear, make it realistic — but the bear holding a ‘welcome’ sign will outsell it eight to one.

“What’s cool is I have work all over the world — Austria, Italy, New Zealand and a lot of states. People will see it and send me a photo of themselves with an arm around whatever piece it is.

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